In-Patient Detox
Many people with Drug and Alcohol problems may have difficulty achieving abstinence at home in their usual surroundings. In-patient Drug and Alcohol Detox (or more properly Detoxification) is provided in specialist units (sometimes specialised wards of Psychiatric Hospitals). They provide medically supervised assessment, stabilisation and withdrawal usually with 24-hour medical cover. Some units providing Drug and Alcohol Detox to patients with a clearly assessed lower level of need may provide services which may be supervised at a lower level by on call medical support. The majority of dedicated Drug and Alcohol Detox units will also include a range of other interventions to support relapse prevention and services to introduce patients to the idea of ongoing therapuetic support to help with ongoing recovery.
Length of treatment
On average a Drug or Alcohol Detox will take between two to four weeks. However, the length of a Detox will vary very much depending upon what drug (including alcohol) the patient is using, how much and for how long. Other factors that may have a bearing on the duration of a Drug or Alcohol Detox would be the Physical and Mental Health of the patient.
All of these issues should be addressed during the assessment and it is vital to the success of a Detox for this assessment to be comprehensive.
What drugs are used for In-patient Detox?
A variety of drugs may be used in a Drug or Alcohol Detox programme. This often depends very much upon the Doctor supervising the Detox but will also depend upon the severity of the addiction or problem and also the physical or mental health of the patient.
For Heroin Detox (or other Opiates) drugs such as Methadone and Subutex (Buprenorphine) are used although some clinics will use other medications such as Lofexidine and other codeine based medications.
For Benzodiazepine Detox most clinics will substitute Diazepam (a longer acting sedative) and once the patient is stabilised start to reduce the dose over an extended period of time.
For patients presenting with both Heroin (or other Opiate) and Benzodiazepine addiction it is usual for the Benzodiazepine Detox to be carried out first whilst stabilising the patient on an agreed dose of a substitute drug for the Opiate addiction.
For Alcohol Detox typically, the medications of choice will be benzodiazepines, such as chlordiazepoxide or diazepam. In circumstances where patients have a history of seizures, alternative medication may be prescribed.
For heavy stimulant users (such as Cocaine and Crack Cocaine) admission to a Drug Detox programme may be necessary due to the possibility of serious depression or other psychological problems following the withdrawal of the stimulant.
For an informal discussion about In-patient Detox programmes available please call treatment-now.com on